Vacuum-sealing of canister, bottle, jar, and like container



Dec. 25, 1934. E, GORE-LLOYD 1,985,788

VACUUM SEALING 0F CANISTER, BOTTLE; JAR, AND LIKE CONTAINER Filed Oct. 26, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 25, '1934. E. GORE-LLOYD 1,

VACUUMjEALING OF CANISTER, BOTTLE, JAR. AND LIKE CONTAINER Filed Oct. 26, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H, r 26 l ll 22 I Patented Dec: 25, 1934 VACUUM-SEALING F CANISTEE, TTLE, JAR, AND LIKE CONTR Edmund Gore-Lloyd, Shepperton-on-Thames,

England Application October 26, 1932 Serial No. 639,693

In Great Britain October 30, 1931 9 Claims. (01.; 215-31) This invention relates to hermetically-sealed containers, for example, canisters, jars, bottles, and the like, which are provided with a lid having an hermetic seating upon the container wall and with a small vent-hole which when the container is in an hermetically clo secl condition .is sealed against the ingress of air intothe container." Such containers willbe referred to herein as containers of the type specified.

The-general object-of the invention is to provide an improved method of sealing the vent-hole of containers of the type specified whereby the operation of opening the container is considerably simplified as compared with present methods of sealing.

According to the present invention, in the sealing of the vent-hole of containers of the type specified, there is used directly over the vent-hole a sealing patch adherently attached to the container wall completely around said hole, which patch is composed of such a material and is sumciently lightly adherent to the container wall as to be directly 'peelable intact therefrom to expose the vent-hole, for example, by a. rollingpeeling action produced by pushing the ball of the thumb or finger across the patch.

It is to be understood that the term peelable is used herein to denote the quality that the patch is capable of being drawn apart from the surface of the container wall by a peeling or stripping action, andthe word directly', as qualifying peelable,'is used to mean that the patch is peelable as it is, thatis to say, without any previous treatment such as moistening, for example, to

condition it for being peeled from the surface of the container.

I It is, of course, not broadly new to seal the vent-hole of an hermetically sealed container by means of a small sealing patch of airproof mate-; rial adherently attached to the container wall completely around the vent-hole therein. For

example, it has been proposed in vacuum-sealed jars, bottles and the like to provide in the hermetic cover of the receptacle a vent-hole over which is secured a small patch of india rubber solutioned to the cover. Similarly, according to another proposal, the evacuation pin-hole of a metallicvacuum-sealed container has been scaled by means of a small disc'of very thin-impervious paper or equivalent material cemented in place over the pin-hole by means of shellac, varnish or p a like adhesive or cement, previously applied aroundthe pinhole. In this connection it will be appreciated'that the present invention is limited to the use of a sealing patch whichis com posed of such a material and issufllciently lightly adherent to the container wall, as to be directly peelable intact therefromto expose the vent-hole. The invention includes a method of sealing the vent-hole of containers of the type specified,

tainer so as to -be directly peelable intact therefrom to expme the vent-hole.

According to another feature of the present in vention, the improved method of sealing containers of the type specified may be further characterized by exhausting the container by exposing it bodily with the lid only loosely resting uponits seating and with the vent-hole already sealed, to a vacuum obtaining external to the container within a vacuum chamber, forcingthe lid firmly home on to its seating by mechanical pressure applied to the lid, admitting the atmosphere again to the external surfaces of the closed container while the lid is being forced home thus upon its seating and thereafter removing the mechanical pressure from the lid.

' The sealing material, that is to say, the liquid or plastic material which is deposited upon the surface of the container wall to form the sealing patch over the vent-hole, may be of any material suitable for this purpose It should be so chosen having regard to the character of the container wall surface to which it is applied, that while aflording a perfectly vacuum-tight closure to the vent-hole, itwill be sumciently lightly adherent to the said surface to permit of its being removed bodily or intact in the manner stated.

Conveniently, the said sealing material may be a solution or dispersion of a flexible plastic, for example, rubber. In the case of containers whereof the wall upon which thesealing material is deposited is metal wall having a polished surface, a sealing omposition which has been found it suitable for the purpose is the sealing'composition sold in this country under the registered trade-mark Gold Seal Lining Compound". Thiscomp'osltion consists of substantially imcoagulated rubber latex, the viscosity of which has been increased by the addition of gum karaya previously treated with a soluble dispersing agent, for example, sodium carbonate, and which has been renderedplastic by the incorporation of a mineral filler such as bentonite.

It will be appreciated, moreover, that the pres 'ent invention is not to be confused with the known practice of hermetically sealing containers which have been exhausted through a small vent-hole in the wall of the container, according to which thevent-hole' is closed in vacuo by a deposit of sealing compound, which afterwards, to vent the container, is pricked through opposite the venthole with the point of a pin or like sharp-pointed implement. Thus, no pricking operation is performed in the venting of a container sealed in.

then stripping it off.

According to a further important feature of the invention there is provided a container of the type specified sealed or scalable by the improved method set forth above and provided for this purpose with a shallow recess in one of its walls, for example, the lid, and with a small vent-hole located therein, the bottom of said recess being covered, or (if the container is in an unsealed condition) arranged to be covered, by a sealing patch of the description given above and the peripheral wall of the recess serving to protect the edge of the patch from accidental detachment from the wall of the container. v

According to a further feature the said recess in the container wall may be provided by forming the exterior of said wall with a shallow ridge surrounding the vent-hole.

According to one form of the present invention, a vacuum-sealed metal container is characterized by a non-hermetic inner lid proper of the lever type, and an outer, false lid hermetically seated upon the container body.

It is to be understood that the expression lid proper" is employed to connote a lid which may be used with the container as long as the container is in use, in contrast to a lid, such as the false lid referred to, which'is designed to be simply a temporary closure-element for the container, to be disposed of, as of no further use, once the container has been opened.

,Another modification of the present invention comprises the combination with a canister body and a lid having an annular trough round its periphery to accommodate a washer of latex or.

like sealing compound to engage the rim of the canister to be vacuum sealed thereto and having a shallow recess in it with a small vent-hole located therein to be covered by a thin layer of sealing compound such as rubber, of a manuallyremovable lid arranged to be detachably applied to the canister outside the vacuum-sealed lid.

In the case of rectangular boxes a special difficulty arises: when the evacuation has taken place, the atmospheric pressure on the outer surface of the fiat sides (especially of the long sides) tends to cause these sides to sag inwards. This movement of the free edge of the side walls is an inconvenience in various ways and tends in some instances to produce leaks.

This invention includes a canister of the general type above described, of rectangular form (i. e. having long flat sides) characterized by the fact that the free edge of the upstanding walls is inturned to such an extent that the inner rim of the recess around the edge of the lid and the intervening flange of the channelled jointing member of plastic or flexible material snugly engage said inturned edge uniformly along its length so as to prevent distortion of such edge Preferably the plastic or flexible material used for the jointing member is that sold under the trade mark Gold Seal Latex or fGold Seal Lining Compound".

,The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate various embodiments by way of example, and of which- Figures 1 and 2 are, respectively, an outside view in perspective and a central transverse secof the ridge.

weaves tion of a metal canister constructed and sealed in accordance with the invention;

Figures 3 and 4 are similar figures of a glass jar embodying the invention;

Figure 5 is partly an outside view and partly a vertical cross-section through a container embodying two'lids and constructed in accordance with the invention, the two lids being shown in the loosely resting position which they :occupy during the operation of exhausting the interior of the container in a vacuum chamber;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing the lids in their closed positions and the container hermetically sealed;

Figure '7 is a vertical section of a container constructed in accordance with the invention with a closure comprising an inner lid having an hermetic seating and an outer screw-cap lid manually removable; v

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 with a press-cap lid substituted for this screw-cap lid;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a flat rectangular canister constructed in accordance with the invention and Figure 10 is a transverse section of the canister shown in Figure 9 indicating the way in which the free edge of the upstanding wall of the canister co-operates with the inner rim of the recess in the lid.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 the canister body 1 is of sheet metal, as also is the lid 2. The lid 2 is formed with an annular circumferential recess 3 into which is let a rubber jointing ring 4. The free edge of the side wall of the canister body 1 seats on the face of the rubber ring 4 with an hermetic fit and the proportions of the parts are such that the said edge embeds itself into the ring as shown.

Preferably the mouth of the canister body is machined true so as to remove therefrom the usual ragged edge and thereby to ensure an effectual fit as between the lid and the body of the canister. With the same object in view and to remove the sharpnesss of the edge and thereby prevent it from cutting the jointing ring 4 it is preferred to tin or solder over the trued edge of the canister body.

The lid 2 is formed at the centre with a shallow annular ridge 5 and centrally of the recess provided by this ridge is a small vent-hole 6 puncturing the lid. The vent-hole 6 is hermetically sealed by a patch of coherent flexible material.

This patch, which is removed to vent the container and thereby release the lid, is formed in situ in the said recess from a deposit therein of the aforesaid sealing composition Gold Seal Lining Compound.

A sufficiency of this plastic material is deposited in the recess substantially to fill it to the crest of the ridge, so that upon evaporation of the dispersion medium the solidified patch assumes the somewhat contracted form shown in cross-section in Figure 2 with a protuberance extending into the vent-hole 6. In this form the thickness of the solidified patch is, as shown, slightly less than the depth of the ridge and the edge of the patch is tapered and directed upwardly towards the crest of the ridge so as to be readily engaged, to initiate the peeling 05 of the patch, by the ball of a persons thumb pushed across the patch from one side towards the other preciated, the presence of the ridge 5 serves normally o p vent the edge of the patch from be- On the other hand, as will be aping accidentally detached from the surface of the lid.

It may further be remarked, with reference to the form and proportions of the ridge and sealing patch, that a convenient and effectual construction has been found to be one in which the ridge is of the particular cross-sectional form shown, is approximately %ths of an inch in diameter across the crest of the ridge and is approximately 3/64ths of an inch in depth at the crest. The invention however is obviously not essentially limited to the use of these proportions and dimensions.

Conveniently, the sealing material to form the patch 7 may be deposited on to the lid from a nozzle adapted to deliver at each operation a measured quantity'exactly suificient to form the patch as previously described;

The canister in this embodiment of the invention is exhausted by the method referred to above by being placed in a vacuum chamber with the lid only loosely resting upon its seatingand with they vent-hole already-sealed with the patch '7.

It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the use of this method of evacuation of the container, but includes within its scope the sealing of any container of the type specified irrespective of how the vacuum for scaling is produced. For example, the invention would include th'e'case where the vacuum is produced by closing the filled container at an elevated temperature, the vent-hole in the container having previously been scaled and the vacuum developing within the container as the latter and its contents cool down.

Also, the invention includes the employment of the following alternative method of sealing. The canister or other container is introduced into a vacuum chamber with its lid in place, but with the vent-hole unsealed. The doors 'of the vacuum chamber are thereupon closed and the chamber is evacuated. The interior atmosphere of the container becomes exhausted to the degree of vacuum obtaining within the vacuum chamber, the air leaving the container by way of the vent-hole therein. Then, while the container is still exposed to the vacuum in the vacuum chamber, the vent-hole is sealed by the application of a sealing patch as described above. Thereafter air is again admitted to the vacuum chamber and the container now sealed is removed. If necessary, as with the special sealing composition named above, heat may be applied in the vacuum chambar to aid in the solidification of the sealing patch.

Turning now to Figures 3 and 4, the body of the jar is denoted by the numeral 8 and the lip 9 of the body seats against the rubber jointing ring 3 in the lid as in the previous construction.

Again, as in the other construction, the lid is provided in the centre with a vent-hole 6 sealed by a sealing patch 7 accommodated within a shallow recess formed by an upstanding annular ridge encircling the vent-hole.

The iar may be exhausted and hermetically closed within a vacuum-chamber in the manner described above with reference to Figures 1 and 2, or by any suitable alternative method, for

example, by the method referred to of closing the mouth of the filled jar with a lid as shown, previously sealed as to its vent-hole 6, while the jar and its contents are at an elevated temperature.

' As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the material of the sealing patch 7 penetrates into the vent-hole 6 5 so as to fill it. This effect, which,as will be ap= preciated, is advantageousin that it tends to enhance the seal of the vent=hole, is readily secured with the Gold Seal" composition referred to above and is due partly to the flowing of the plastic sealing patch composition into the venthole upon 'its being deposited in the recess and partly to the continual premure of the external atmosphere upon the surface of the patch subse quently to the sealing operation, said pressure causing the material of the solidified patch gradually to flow into the vent-hole.

If desired, instead of forming the sealing patch in situ over the vent-hole as described above, the directly peelable patch may be a preformed patch composed, for example, of airproof fabric coated upon that face which is to be towards the container wall when the patch is in position over the vent-hole, or impregnated, with a weak adhesive, so that the patch shall be sufficiently lightly adherent to the container wall as to be directly peelable iptact therefrom to expose the venthole. An instance of fabric material found suitable for this purpose is the material of which medicinal and like adhesive tape is composed.

In Figures 5 and 6 the container shown is a sheet metal canister, the body part 11 of which asfar as the side and bottom walls are concerned, is of conventional construction. The mouth of the container, however, isprovided with a rim 12 having the form shown and soldered in place upon the outer edge of the side wall 11. The flange 13 of this rim provides a substantially air-tight seating for a non-hermetic inner lid proper 14 of the lever type. superposed over the inner lid 14 is a. false outer lid 15, which is hermetic, and for this purpose is provided within an annular circumferential recess 16 accommodating a rubbe; jointing ring 17 adapted to seat upon the outer bend 18 of the flanged rim 12.

I The outer false lid is formed at the centre with a shallow annular ridge 19 surrounding a small vent-hole 2i), puncturing the lid. The shallow recess thus provided, within the annular ridge 19, is substantially filled, so as to cover and her metically seal the vent-hole 26, by a patch 21 formed in situ within the recess from a deposit therein of the sealing composition Gold Seal Lining Compound", hereinbeiore mentioned.

To unseal the vent-hole 20 and thereby release 7 the outer lid 15 for removal to open the container, the ball of the thumb or finger is pushed over the ridge 19 and across the patch 11, this operation having the effect of lifting the edge of the patch at the side thereof from which the ball of the thumb is pushed across the patch and thereafter peeling and bodily removing the patch intact from the recess within the ridge 19 by a rollingpeeling action as previously described herein.

Referring now to the actual operations involved in closing the container, these operations may conveniently be performed in the following manner:-

The vent-holes in the lids of a batch of canisters to be closed are first sealed by depositing a small quantity of the aforesaid sealing composition into the recess surrounding the vent-hole. A succession of the canisters with their lids in the positions shown in Figure 5 and with their vent-holes already sealed, are then fed on a conhausted by means of a vacuum pump. Asare sult of this operation, the lnteriorof'thecontainers also becomes evacuated of atmosphere to the degree of vacuum obtaining in the vacuum chamtimed to descend upon the lids immediately the conveyor, with the containers upon it, has come to rest within the vacuum chamber.

Finally, air is re-admitted to the interior of the vacuum chamber while the lids are still being thrust home on to their seatings, whereupon the mechanical pressure upon the lidsis removed and the containers are taken from the vacuum chamber, the sealing operation completed.

The automatic mechanism forthrusting the two lids of the container home on to their seatings may take any desired form other than that described above. For instance, the containers may be advanced on their conveyor past a shoe or cam adapted to press the lids home on to their seatings' as the conveyor moves forward in the vacuum chamber.

In Figures '7 and 8 a canister body 22 has a lid 23 provided with an annular trough 2% around its periphery. This annular trough 24 accommodates a washer of a sealing compound as hereinbefore described 25. The lid 23 has a shallow recess 26 with a small vent hole 27 located therein which is coveredby a thin layer of sealing Figure 7 a screw cap 29 engaging with threads 30 formed on the top outside surface of the canister body 22 is arranged to be detachably applied to the canister outside the vacuum-sealed lid 23. In the construction shown in Figure 7 the inner lid 23 maybe retained, after the vacuum seal 28 has been broken, and pressed into a sealing position by the screw cap 29. Alternatively the inner lid may be thrown away and the canister 22 closed in an air-tight manner by a washer formed in the trough 31 on the screw cap by depositing a sealing compound, as hereinbefore described, in the said trough which extends round the inside of the top of the screw cap 29. A washer so formed could be forced into engagement with the rim of the canister to make an air-tight closure therefor. In 8 a press cap 32 is substituted for the screw cap 29 shown in Figure '7. In both the constructions shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8 the outer caps 29 and 32 assist in holding the inner cap 23 in position even if a pressure inside the canister is generated for example when coffee is stored under a vacuum.

In Figures 9 and 10 the long wall 33 of the flat;

rectangular canister when closed by the lid 34 has to withstand considerable atmospheric pressure after evacuation and if free to do so, the upper edge of that long wall tends to assume an arcuate form. The recess 35 formed around the outside of the lid 34 has an inner face 36 which is at right angles to the plane of the lid. The recess 35 is .lined with a plastic sealing compound known as Gold Seal Lining Compound" which is substantially in the form of a channel 3'1. The free edge 38 of the upstanding wall of the canister is inturned quite definitely and to such an extent that there is a snug and uniform engagement of the weaves said inturned edge 38 with the lined rim 36 of the recess 35.

It is of importance that the lid 34 should-be of such a size that when it is closed over the body of the rectangular box it automaticallycenters the free edge 38 of the upstanding wall in the channel 37.

1. As a new article of manufacture, a container adapted to be evacuated and having a punctured wall and an adhesive patch of peelable coherent flexible material closing said puncture, said patch throughout its area being in direct contact with the wall of the container in the immediate vicinity of the puncture.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a container adapted to be evacuated and having a punctured wall and an adhesive patch of peelable coherent flexible material having a protuberance extending into said puncture, said patch throughout its area being in direct contact with the wall of the container in the immediate vicinity of the puncture.

3. As a new article of manufacture a metallic lid for a container adapted to be evacuated, said lid having a punctured wall and an adhesive patch of substantially unvulcanized rubber latex having incorporated with it a mineral filling material and closing said puncture.

4. As a new article of manufacture a metallic lid for a container adapted to be evacuated, said lid having a punctured wall and an adhesive patch of substantially unvulcanized rubber latex having incorporated with it a mineral filling material, which patch has a protuberance extending into said puncture.

5. As a new article of manufacture a tinned metallic lid for a container adapted to be evacuated, said lid having a punctured wall and an adhesive patch of substantially unvulcanized rubber latex having incorporated with it a mineral filling material and closing said puncture, said patch throughout its area being in direct contact with the wall of the container in the immediate vicinity of the puncture.

6. As a newarticle of manufacture a container adapted to be evacuated and having a punctured metallic wall and an adhesive patch of selfhaving incorporated with it a mineral filler, said patch throughout its area being in direct contact with the wall of the container in the immediate vicinity of the puncture.

8. As a new article of manufacture a container adapted to be evacuated and having a punctured ,metallic wall and a lightly adhesive peelable patch of substantially unvulcanized rubber latex having incorporated with it a gum and a mineral filler, which patch closes said puncture.

9. As a new article of manufacture a container adapted to be evacuated and having a punctured metallic wall having a tinned surface about the. puncture and an adhesive patch of substantially unvulcanized rubber latex having incorporated with it a gum and a mineral filler, which patch closes said puncture.

GORE-LLOYD. 

